Today I bring you two of my favourite vegan sandwich fillings: Chickpeagg Salad and Pepitawurst.

I bragged about the Chickpeagg Salad sandwiches yesterday, and of course IMMEDIATELY Saby DEMANDED the recipe from me, so I decided to toy with her a bit and wait a full 24 hours before posting it online, because I like to play with her emotions a little bit. But it’s not nice to keep her in perpetual anticipation so here we go.

Chickpeagg Salad Sandwich Filling

1 (14oz) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup vegan mayo (Vegenaise is the undisputed champ-een of all vegan mayos)

1/4 cup chopped pickles – whatever your favourite kind is (once I used pickled pearl onions and OMG; but usually I just use the dills I keep on hand)

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp salt (if you have Kala Namak or Indian “Black Salt” – really it’s pink – use that. Stinky egg-like goodness)

dash of apple cider vinegar

dash of liquid sweetener

pinch of tumeric

grinding of black pepper

Place all ingredients in your blender or food processor and puree until uncommonly smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Makes enough for like 8 sandwiches.
If you want this filling to be even more egg-like, try tossing some big chunks of firm silken or smoked tofu into it post-processing and stirring those around. They recreate cooked egg-whites very nicely.
Also yummy as a dip, or used as a filling for vegan “deviled eggs”.

 

 

Pepitawurst

I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but when I was a kid, I was a huge fan of processed meat products. Deviled ham and liverwurst especially. Of course now that I’m older, wiser and vegan the idea of eating the pureed flesh of another once-living sentient creature gives me the heaves, no matter how nicely spiced it may be. So when I developed this recipe for a baked pumpkin seed (pepita) spread (based on a sunflower pate recipe), I realized that it recreated that rich, spicy, salty sensation in my mouth every time I put it into a sandwich with mustard and mayo (just like the liverwurst sandwiches my mother used to send with me to school – and yes, I got teased about my lunches a lot…)

So, if you’re of German ancestry or just remember enjoying a sandwich spread thick with processed meat paste but don’t want to eat processed meat paste anymore, give this recipe a whirl and lemme know what you think.

1 1/3 cups finely ground raw pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp each dried sage, rosemary, thyme, paprika, black pepper, onion powder and marjoram

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp each nutmeg & allspice

1 1/2 cups warm water

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp your favourite mustard

Preheat your oven to 325 F. Oil a 8″ or 9″ baking pan (a pie plate or cake pan is great). Using a whisk, blend the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl until well combined. Add the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until the edges look firm but the center still seems a bit soft. Let cool on a wire rack, then transfer to a food processor or blender and whiz until it’s smooth. Store in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 7 days. Great in sandwiches or on crackers.

And today, just because, here’s a bonus photo of one of my kitties, sitting pretty in a basket full of random swimming pool junk, hiding out from the rain on our deck.